Rights application within document-based conferencing
Although current conferencing applications provide many abilities, some of these abilities are limited. Various embodiments described herein provide one or more of systems, methods, software, and data structures that allow a document, or other file type, to be used to connect to a network-based conference, such as over the Internet, where a view of a local copy of the document is synchronized between participants. Participation abilities of certain network-based conference participants may be limited in such embodiments. Such limits may be enforced locally for each participant, on a server by preventing data representative of certain actions from being broadcast to other participants, or in other ways as described and would be readily apparent herein.
1. A computerized method comprising:
on a client computing device including a local copy of a document:
in response to an indication to open the local copy of the document, determining whether the local copy of the document includes document-based conferencing connectivity data;
when the local copy of the document is determined to include the document-based conferencing connectivity data embedded within the local copy of the document, extracting collaboration session permission data and the document-based conferencing connectivity data, the document-based conferencing connectivity data including:
(i) a collaboration server identifier that specifies a collaboration server for connection, and
(ii) a document identifier that identifies the local copy of the document;
in response to extracting the document-based conferencing connectivity data, connecting to a collaboration session on the collaboration server specified by the collaboration server identifier extracted from the document-based conferencing connectivity data, the collaboration session identified based on the document identifier extracted from the document based conferencing connectivity data, wherein each of a plurality of collaboration session participants are connected to the collaboration session for viewing a respective local copy of the document;
when a designation of a collaboration session permission for a further collaboration session participant is received, storing, within the local copy of the document at the client computing device, the designation of the collaboration session permission received for the further collaboration session participant, wherein a service module determines whether one or more actions can be performed by the further collaboration session participant when connected to the collaboration session as a function of the document identifier, an identity of the further collaboration session participant, and the designation;
transmitting a representation of the collaboration session permission to the further collaboration session participant; and
when a modification to an existing collaboration session permission is received for one of the plurality of collaboration session participants:
storing, within the local copy of the document at the client computing device, a designation of the modified collaboration session permission for the one of the plurality of collaboration session participants; and
transmitting a representation of the modified collaboration session permission to the one of the plurality of collaboration session participants.
2. The computerized method of claim 1 , wherein the transmitting of the representation of the collaboration session permission to the further collaboration session participant includes:
transmitting the representation to the further collaboration session participant via the collaboration server.
3. The computerized method of claim 1 , wherein the transmitting of the representation to the further collaboration session participant via the collaboration server includes:
calling a service on the collaboration server.
4. The computerized method of claim 1 , wherein the designation of the collaboration session permission comprises a permission limiting an action ability that can be performed by the further collaboration session participant with regard to the respective local copy of the document of the further collaboration session participant.
5. The computerized method of claim 1 , wherein the local copy of the document includes at least a portion encoded according to a page description language file format specification.
6. A computerized method comprising:
accessing a local copy of a document stored on a client computing device performing the computerized method;
in response to accessing the local copy of the document stored on the client computing device, determining whether the local copy of the document includes embedded document-based conferencing connectivity data;
when the local copy of the document is determined to include the embedded document-based conferencing connectivity data, extracting, from the local copy of the document, permissions data and the document-based conferencing connectivity data, the document-based conferencing connectivity data including:
(i) a Uniform Resource identifier that specifies a collaboration server for connection to the client computing device performing the computerized method, and
(ii) a document identifier that identifies the local copy of the document as stored on the client computing device;
in response to extracting the document-based conferencing connectivity data, connecting to a collaboration session on the collaboration server specified by the Uniform Resource Identifier extracted from the document-based conferencing connectivity data, the collaboration session identified based on the document identifier extracted from the document-based conferencing connectivity data;
receiving conferencing data from the collaboration server, the conferencing data including further permissions data, the further permissions data of the conferencing data including a designation, wherein a service module determines whether one or more actions can be performed by a collaboration session participant when connected to the collaboration session as a function of the document identifier, an identity of the collaboration session participant, and the designation;
embedding the further permissions data received from the collaboration server in the local copy of the document stored on a client computing device; and
implementing the permissions data extracted from the local copy of the document and the further permissions data of the conferencing data received from the collaboration server; and
when a modification to at least one of the permissions data and the further permissions data is received:
storing, within the local copy of the document at the client computing device, a designation of the modified collaboration session permission for the collaboration session participant; and
transmitting a representation of the modified collaboration session permission to the collaboration session participant.
7. The computerized method of claim 6 , wherein the further permissions data of the conferencing data prevents at least one of the one or more actions from being performed with regard to the local copy of the document.
8. The computerized method of claim 7 , wherein the further permissions data of the conferencing data prevents a user from sharing modifications to the local copy of the document with a further collaboration session participant.
9. The computerized method of claim 6 , further comprising:
communicating data representative of document modifications via the collaboration server, the data further including an identifier of a document location and instructions to change the identified document location.
10. The computerized method of claim 6 , wherein the receiving of the conferencing data from the collaboration server includes:
receiving the conferencing data as originated with one or more other computing devices of other collaboration session participants, wherein the conferencing data is relayed by the collaboration server.
11. The computerized method of claim 6 , wherein the document includes a portion encoded according to a page description language file format specification.
12. A system comprising:
at least one memory device storing a data viewing user interface and a conferencing module
at least one processor that executes the data viewing user interface and the conferencing module; and
at least one network interface device;
wherein the conferencing module, as executed via the at least one:
determines, in response to an indication of accessing a dataset stored locally on the at least one memory device, whether the dataset includes embedded conferencing connectivity data;
upon a determination that the dataset stored locally on the at least one memory device includes the embedded conferencing connectivity data, extracts the conferencing connectivity data from the dataset stored locally on the at least one memory device, the conferencing connectivity data including:
(i) a collaboration server identifier that specifies a collaboration server for connection, and
(ii) a dataset identifier that identifies the dataset as stored locally on the at least one memory device,
a portion of the dataset being displayable in the data viewing interface;
upon extraction of the conferencing connectivity data and via the at least one network interface device, connects to a collaboration server specified by the collaboration server identifier extracted from the conferencing connectivity data;
joins a collaboration conference based on the dataset identifier extracted from connectivity data, wherein the collaboration conference is specific to the dataset and each of a plurality of collaboration conference participants views a respective local copy of the dataset; and
receives data from the collaboration server, via the network interface device, the data including permissions data for at least one of the plurality of collaboration conference participants, the permissions data including a designation, wherein a service module manages whether one or more actions can be performed by the at least one of the plurality of collaboration conference participants when connected to the collaboration conference as a function of the document identifier, an identity of the at least one of the plurality of collaboration conference participants, and the designation;
processes the permissions data including the designation, wherein the designation is implemented to allow or deny the one or more actions when the at least one of the plurality of collaboration conference participants attempts to perform the one or more actions upon the dataset as displayed within the data viewing user interface;
stores the received permissions data within the dataset that is stored locally on the at least one memory device; and
when a modification to the permissions data for at least one of the plurality of collaboration conference participants is received:
storing, within the dataset that is stored locally on the at least one memory device, a designation of the modified permissions data for the at least one of the plurality of collaboration conference participants; and
transmitting a representation of the modified permissions data to the at least one of the plurality of collaboration conference participants.
13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the dataset is a document encoded according to a page description language file format.
14. The system of claim 12 , wherein the one or more actions includes a document editing action.
15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the one or more actions includes sharing the conference participants.
16. The system of claim 12 , wherein the one or more actions are related to an ancillary conferencing elements.
17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the ancillary conferencing elements includes a shared whiteboard element.